How the protracted battle over government spending is dominated by House Republicans' fundamental efforts to appease a single audience: President-elect Trump, despite ideological divisions between warring factions in the chamber. highlighted.
President Trump's 11th-hour decision to jump into the fundraising battle, with a big push from billionaire Elon Musk, prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to initially ally with Democrats. The deal was forced to be scrapped, putting Republican leaders in crisis. Governments scrambled for alternatives, pushing the country to the brink of a holiday government shutdown.
The exhausting three-day saga further fueled persistent tensions within a restive Republican conference. Johnson threatened as he tried to retain the gavel. And when President Trump returns to the White House next month, it raises new questions about how it will affect control of the House next year, when Republicans will control the House with an even thinner cushion than their current slim majority. I raised it.
Some Republicans have argued that Trump's intervention was inappropriate, especially his insistence that any spending package involve raising the federal debt ceiling, which has infuriated House conservatives. This is a pernicious right-wing idea that has made it even more difficult for Mr Johnson to pass legislation. line.
“President Trump clearly has a lot of influence over the Republican Party, so I believe that what he says will have an impact on individuals. But the House needs to function as the House of Representatives, and the House Members need to vote on what the House does, and House Republicans need to do what's right and best,” said Rep. Bob Good (D-Va.). ), former leader of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.
“I think it was a mistake to try to raise the debt ceiling.”
Democrats were even more scathing in their criticism, arguing that Mr. Johnson had heeded Mr. Trump's initial calls to scrap the deal, capitulated to someone who was not yet president, and undermined future trust between the two parties.
“The only currency we have in this body is our words. That's our trust. That's our bond with each other,” said the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Superintendent. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the lead negotiator on the partisan deal, spoke on the House floor after Johnson abandoned the deal. “And when you sever that bond, you also erode the ability to come together and try to govern on behalf of the people of this country.”
Rep. Richard Neal (Massachusetts), the ranking Democrat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, echoed this message, saying Republican leaders are unconstitutionally ceding Congress' power to another branch of government. denounced.
“Members of Congress do not serve under the President of the United States. We work with the President of the United States,” he said. “This is a substantive, well-conceived agreement, a modest victory for both sides. This is not revolutionary.”
Looking ahead to next year, President Trump's erratic style and unpredictable demands could thwart ambitious Republican plans to extend tax cuts, repeal climate change measures adopted by President Biden, and cut federal spending across the board. There is sex. Some lawmakers may force Trump to oppose the original spending deal, whether it's a partisan Republican agenda or a bipartisan agreement on must-pass legislation, such as funding the government. He warned that Mr. Musk's seemingly extraordinary influence was likely to further complicate matters.
“The problem is they've instilled mistrust,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York. “Working together means talking, finding an agreement, making an agreement, and sticking to that agreement. And if Mr. Musk or Mr. Trump decide they want to overturn that, obviously It shows. [a deal]it causes confusion.
“We should be an independent branch of government.”
Facing a midnight Saturday deadline, Prime Minister Johnson rushed the bill to the floor on Friday night, where it passed with overwhelming support and the Senate followed suit hours later, avoiding a shutdown. But the anti-climactic outcome of the funding struggle belied the turbulent and bitter 72 hours that had preceded it.
The bipartisan agreement, announced Tuesday night, comes after weeks of tense negotiations between the two parties, with leaders on both sides saying they are on track to pass the bill and get to the holidays without much fuss. I thought that I was progressing.
But Musk launched a relentless campaign of opposition early Wednesday, and Trump followed suit later in the day, arguing that the package would give Democrats too much and include raising the debt ceiling. he demanded. He warned that any Republican who voted in favor of the spending deal without such a commitment should be elected to the primary.
“If Republicans are willing to pass a clean continuation resolution without all of the Democratic 'bells and whistles' that are so destructive to our country, all they can do after January 20th is force the Trump administration to issue debt limits. “It will only cause chaos,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “instead of allowing that to happen in the Biden administration.”
“Republicans stupid enough to do this should and will be elected to primary office,” he added. “Everything needs to be completed and fully negotiated before my inauguration on January 20, 2025.”
Good lost this year to a Trump-backed Republican primary challenger, but he had no reason to fear Trump's threats against his re-election. “That's very scary,” he said sarcastically.
But Trump is by far the most powerful person in the Republican Party, and his support could make or break his political career. Even Republicans, wary of his erratic leadership style, vulgar tendencies and willingness to break with conservative tradition, are generally reluctant to voice such criticism publicly.
And Johnson is treading a particularly delicate line as he seeks to secure support for a return to the speakership next year in the face of opposition from some conservatives dissatisfied with his leadership style. There is. On Wednesday, the speaker spent little time addressing President Trump's calls to scrap the bipartisan deal and blaming Democrats when the package that would have raised the debt ceiling was defeated in the full House Thursday evening.
“I want to remind everyone that it was just last spring that these same Democrats were criticizing Republicans and saying it was irresponsible to hold the debt ceiling and the debt ceiling hostage. What has changed? '' he asked reporters after the vote.
“I think it would be really irresponsible to risk a shutdown over this issue on something that has already been agreed upon.”
But if the debate highlighted Trump's grip on the Republican Party, it also revealed the limits of that influence.
Trump's intervention invalidated the original bipartisan agreement that Johnson had blessed, but on Thursday, 38 House Republicans voted against the president's preferred legislation. The bill that ultimately passed the House of Representatives did not include the debt ceiling increase that President Trump had called for. These dynamics have led some Democrats to expect House Republicans to break with President Trump next year, if necessary.
“Thirty-eight Republicans voted against him,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). “So I think you're probably going to see a lot of this back-and-forth kabuki dancing pretty early on. But you never know where it's all going to end.”
Still, most Democrats were outraged by President Trump's intervention and Prime Minister Johnson's response. They argue that this episode sets a terrible tone for how Congress will or won't work for at least the next two years.
“Do you think it's going to be easier next year?'' As we all know, when President Trump tells him to jump, Johnson usually responds by saying, “How high?'' said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. ) said.
“The bottom line is that leadership requires standing up for what's right and telling people the truth, including Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk,” he continued. “At some point, Johnson has to show leadership, and he's just proven he can't do that.”
